EU adds Justin Sun’s HTX to Russia sanctions list, stopping short of asset freeze
Brussels' 21st sanctions package targets HTX and 17 other crypto firms with transaction curbs, deepening scrutiny already begun in London.
The Council of the European Union has placed HTX, the exchange linked to Tron founder Justin Sun, on its list of crypto entities accused of helping Russian users circumvent financial sanctions, marking Brussels’ most significant regulatory action yet against the platform. The measure was adopted on Thursday and published on Friday as part of the bloc’s 21st sanctions package targeting Russia’s war economy, according to Reuters.
Unlike a full sanctions designation, the EU action against HTX does not require an asset freeze. Instead, the exchange falls within a group of crypto businesses now subject to transaction controls under the package, Reuters reported. The Council separately confirmed it had extended restrictions to 14 crypto-related platforms operating out of Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, with the discrepancy in company counts reflecting how the measures classify firms versus the platforms they run.
Reuters reported that 18 crypto-services companies in total appeared on the published list. For the first time, the package also grants the EU a mechanism to prohibit dealings with crypto providers in third countries where authorities determine those services are enabling Russian sanctions evasion — a tool the Council has described as a deterrent aimed at jurisdictions hosting such platforms.
A second regulator follows the UK
The EU listing follows sanctions imposed by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 26 May against Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-based company behind HTX. British authorities alleged the exchange provided services to the A7 payments network, backed by Russian state-controlled Promsvyazbank, and to Moscow-based exchange Garantex, both previously sanctioned. The UK measures included an asset freeze and barred British firms from processing payments or maintaining financial relationships with the designated entities — a stricter regime than the transaction-based restrictions now applied by the EU.
HTX had previously argued that Huobi Global S.A. was “distinct from the online HTX exchange,” but a review by Protos found that Huobi Global S.A. holds the HTX trademark in the United States and has described itself in court filings as the entity that “owns and operates HTX.” The new EU sanctions list HTX alongside Huobi Global S.A. directly, undercutting that distinction.
Separately, from 25 August, EU rules will restrict Belarusian ownership of crypto firms regulated under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, adding a further compliance layer for exchanges with links to the region.
Reserve moves and rotating wallets raise flags
Following the UK sanctions, HTX disclosed that it had shifted more than $1 billion of reserves to an undisclosed custodian, directing users to contact third-party custodians directly for verification rather than naming the entity itself.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has separately alleged that HTX has been rapidly cycling through wallets, complicating efforts by other crypto firms to keep sanctions-screening lists current. Ari Redbord, TRM Labs’ global head of policy, described the pattern as “HTX changing its wallets every few hours to stay a step ahead of screening built on static lists.” HTX told The Block the practice reflects “routine, security-driven platform operations common across the industry” and that it “categorically rejects any characterization implying otherwise.”
HTX, founded in China in 2013 as Huobi before Sun acquired a controlling stake in 2022, describes Sun as an adviser rather than an owner. Neither HTX nor Huobi Global S.A. had responded to requests for comment from Reuters or Protos at the time of publication.
For European regulators, the case illustrates a widening toolkit for policing crypto-enabled sanctions evasion — one that increasingly targets transaction flows and third-country intermediaries rather than relying solely on asset freezes.
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